Kelly Lucero

Editor for the NYFalls.com network of sites & Community Leader for NYFalls.com

The Basics

I was born and raised in Western New York and currently live in Rochester.

I grew up in a home where there were always cameras around and I don’t remember a time when I didn’t have one of my own. Having a dad who worked for Kodak in its heyday, came with perks like easy and affordable access to cameras, film and developing.

Camera in hand, I’m drawn to a crowded market or a busy city street looking for interesting people, patterns, colors, textures, shoes, shapes, shadows, oddities, or just about any other random or unusual item I can find. I’m just as comfortable wandering quiet and alone through a park or in the woods admiring and photographing the natural world that surrounds me. Of particular interest are songbirds and snowflakes. I find subjects that interest me just about anywhere.

In 2003, I began selling my photography in the form of note cards and prints. My work is available today at local shows, shops and always at my website, The Garden Path Photography.

My primary role at NYFalls is that of Editor. I provide a second set of eyes for pretty much everything that gets published here. I read it all – usually multiple times. Where else would I have learned that most male marsupials have a bifurcated penis? Yep! That’s right. Bifurcated. Google it.

I enjoy the work I do for NYFalls very much. It’s a supportive and knowledgeable community that I’m fortunate to be a part of.

He Said / She Said

“Kelly has a unique talent to interpret everyday scenes, ones that we generally pass by without a second thought, and present them back to us in outstanding clarity and with refreshing perspective. Her ability to make comfortable scenes seem new to us again is a remarkable talent that is evident in her farmers’ market photographs as well as her collection of “odds and ends.” Fantastic colors, details, and composition all come together to create pictures that strike the heart as much as they do our eyes. Although one may see objects in her photos and interpret them as the subject, the true art she presents is the appreciation of the environment the apparent subject lives within.

Focus is a characteristic lacking in a lot of work I see these days. And here I am not talking about the technical ability of focusing a lens. I mean the ability to focus on the objective of creating a photograph, whether to follow an assignment, tell a story, to convey a feeling, or to represent a scene. This is where Kelly shines. Her photos follow a narration of the moment in time of their capture, and allow you to experience the detail present in the microcosm she chose to isolate. These are not pictures of things, they are captures of mini-frames of lives that we otherwise take for granted.

On the personal side, Kelly breathes life into our message boards with insight, wit, and perspective that keeps everyone entertained. Behind the scenes she has been a hard-working, hawk-eyed editor who makes sure that articles are presentable and clear before they get her stamp of approval. She is responsible for bringing NYFalls.com into a class of refinement that was not within reach before she joined the team. Personally, she has grown to be one of my closest friends despite a contrasting generation gap and artistic perspective. Without discounting overlap in our personalities, it may be the appreciation for the differences in perspective that keeps the friendship strong, which is something I can truly identify as a trait as exceptional as her art.” – Matthew Conheady, NYFalls.com Founder & Local know-it-all

“I have to come back and buy a second one of everything. I get home with my cards – look at them, and say “I can’t send that—it’s so pretty, I need to keep it!” So now it’s always one for me and one to send!” – Liz Thompson, Bat expert

“The ladies I gifted your photo cards to loved them. Most said they couldn’t decide whether to write on them or frame them!! My own personal solution is to buy them matted to hang on my walls. – K.M., California

“We appreciate your talent so much as it has helped make our house truly a home!” - J & M, Rochester

“Just love these cards! You do such a great job! I thank you for the extras too. You’re so thoughtful – I hate most of the cards on the market, however sometimes I see photographic ones and none to equal yours. Thanks again.” - S.A. Overs

“Everyone loves your photographs – I had 2 ladies fighting over a lilac picture!” – A local shopkeeper

“What a wonderful photographer you are. I like what you see, and how you frame it, and I like your sense of humor and your sense of…the profoundness (profundity?) of mundane things.” – Tina Curren

“Kelly, they’re beautiful! I always think I’ve picked out the most special ones - then each time they’re more beautiful than before! I never get tired of looking at them! Thanks!” – Kelly Paganelli

“I had a photo shoot with Kelly done yesterday. She was very easy to work with, and was able to catch my “essence” in less-than-ideal lighting conditions. I highly recommend her and her work!” – Allen Walck

“Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do…” Christopher Morley

My Gear

I honestly think gear matters a whole lot less than some people want it to. It’s important – sure. But the best gear in the world isn’t going to make anyone a good photographer without first being able to “see” creatively. Then why do I list it here? I’ve never included it in my bios before – mainly because, I’m not sure it matters. I’m putting it out here now, because it’s hands down, the question I get asked most often. So here it is. I’ve got some nice stuff – but it’s neither the fanciest nor the most expensive.

Far too many people subscribe to the notion that sophisticated equipment makes better photos. That simply is not true. The ability to see makes better photos. Given the same subject, with the same point of view and all conditions being exactly equal – the “better” equipment may have an edge. But no gear in the world can make up for the inability to “see”. Eyes and brain first, then lens, then camera.

Pretty much nothing annoys me more when I’m out shooting than having the very first thing a stranger says to me be, “Oh, what camera are you using?” Don’t get me wrong. I love chatting it up with other photographers and people on the street, but come on…..if that’s how someone starts a conversation – I know I’m not interested in anything they have to say.

For the photography I enjoy most – my best “gear” is the perpetual honing and training of my eye to notice details, a bundle of patience and sometimes, just some good ol’ luck.

“My pictures are not escapes from reality, but a contemplation of reality, so that I can experience life in a deeper way.”

Bruce Davidson

Cameras

Canon EOS 50D

Canon EOS 7D

Canon EOS Rebel T3i

Canon PowerShot S95

Canon PowerShot A480

Lenses

Canon EF-S 10-22mm

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS ll

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 ll

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8

Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L

Canon EF 100-400 f/4.5-5.6L IS

Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro

Tamron 18-270mm VC

Photo Editing Software

Photoshop Elements 9

“Photography is a love affair with life.”

Burk Uzzle

Let It Snow

These delicate jewels fall from the sky – and I photograph them against colorful wool. What’s not two alike?

3 “flakes” beside a penny for reference. Can you see them all? Tiny, huh?! (Click image to enlarge)

Via her website

Via the

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